This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Glory, glory, hallelujah: Tim Miller is the man in the Glory Box at SMU.

Thursday, September 30

When Ché Guevara was killed in Bolivia in 1967, people shouted in the streets, "We won't let him be forgotten." We don't think they had in mind that Guevara's image would now appear on T-shirts, purses, watches and posters, appropriated by people who care more about Urban Outfitters than South American politics. But here's a more fitting tribute: The Motorcycle Diaries, a film about how Guevara and a friend spent eight months traveling 8,000 miles through South America in 1952, opens the sixth annual Vistas Film Festival with a screening at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Horchow Auditorium of the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St. Admission is $20. The festival continues at the DMA and the Angelika Film Center through Friday with film topics ranging from gay teenagers and Internet brides to swindlers, tango dancers and cleaning ladies. Passes are $10 to $65. Call 214-932-6032 or visit www.vistasfilmfestival.org.

Friday, October 1

Performance artist Tim Miller's been an unpopular guy since the other President Bush was in office. Back then he was one of the NEA 4, a group of four artists who sued the federal government after their National Endowment for the Arts grants were overturned because of pressure from the White House. The funny and fearless treatises on gay rights that made him an enemy of the Bush family made him a hero in many other families--the kind that 14 years later still aren't recognized as legal families. And that's where Glory Box comes in. Miller's one-man show was inspired by his own life: His eight-year partner faces deportation to Australia because the United States doesn't grant gay partners the immigration rights other couples receive. When his partner's student visa runs out, they'll have to leave the country in order to stay together. Miller performs Glory Box at 6 p.m. Friday in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Theater, 3149 Dyer St., on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Admission is free. Call 214-768-4796.

Saturday, October 2

Wet-and-stick fake tattoos were our gateway drug. By high school we had worked our way up to standard ink pens, permanent markers and calligraphy pens with their sharp tips and potent ink, practicing designs, sizes and locations. Then one day, after college, we went all the way. Now we can never come back. For those who want to take a tattoo test run, minus the Sharpies and Bics and without resorting to wet-and-stick tats of Hot Wheels or Barbie, we suggest trying henna tattoos, also known as mendhi. These designs are made with a paste of henna--a natural dye derived from leaves--that leaves an orange tint on the skin that can last a week or two. During The Art of Mendhi, a workshop from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturdays in October, students will hear the basics, from learning the materials used, creating a basic design and finally decorating a hand. Admission is $10 ($5 for members of the Crow Collection), and reservations are required. Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010 Flora St. Call 214-979-6430.

Sunday, October 3

This isn't the normal kind of Sunday drive. There will be no grandpas hunched low in their cars going 10 miles under the speed limit, turn signal blinking mile after mile. But you couldn't pay tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan in an ordinary way. After all, this is the guy who played the blues when the blues weren't popular, especially coming from a longhaired white boy from Oak Cliff. So they're doing it Stevie's way during the 10th annual Stevie Ray Vaughan Remembrance Ride and Concert, which starts at Deep Ellum Blues, 2612 Main St., with doors opening at 9 a.m. The motorcycle parade departs at 11:30 a.m. for Cowboys in Arlington, 2540 E. Abrams St., where a concert featuring Double Trouble, Joe Bonamassa and more takes place from noon to 7:30 p.m. Then it's back to Deep Ellum Blues for the All-Star Jam featuring Jim Suhler and Soulville from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on Sunday. Visit www.srvrideandconcert.org.

Monday, October 4

Name two golfers not called Tiger Woods. Sadly, in the time it took to do that trivial task, a Texas woman was beaten by her husband or boyfriend because, according to Genesis Women's Shelter, every 15 seconds an abuse occurs in the Lone Star State. In order to serve hundreds of women and children who've left their homes, the group presents its 14th Annual Golf Tournament on Monday at Prestonwood Country Club. In addition to the golf tournament, there will be live and silent auctions, lunch catered by the club and a dinner and awards ceremony called "Margaritas and Munchies." Check-in and lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. Proceeds help Genesis feed, clothe and shelter homeless women and their children. Call 214-559-2050.

Tuesday, October 5

Look at Michigan comedy folk singer Wally Pleasant, and you'll just see a guy with messy hair and a guitar, cursing nervously, giggling at himself and telling stories twice as long as the songs he plays. It doesn't sound like much, but Pleasant makes his shows into parties. We've played bingo, participated in sing-a-longs, avoided getting picked to play tambourine and been forced to tell an embarrassing anecdote to the crowd, and loved every minute of it. But that shouldn't overshadow the music: short, simple ditties with smart lyrics, catchy choruses and bizarre observations. Though fans won't let him leave until he's played "Alternateen," "Stupid Day Job" and "That's Evolution," Pleasant's actually in town to promote his new CD, Music for Nerds & Perverts. He plays the Brick Haus Café, 219 W. Oak St., Denton, at 8 p.m. with Acoustic Ross. Call 940-566-6690.

Wednesday, October 6

We couldn't believe it when the woman across the street gasped and glared at our friends who were kissing, but well within the acceptable limits of public displays of affection. Sure, they were both male, but c'mon, this is 2004 in the arts district of Houston, one of the biggest cities in Texas, we thought. On the drive back to Dallas, passing small town after small town, we wondered what the reaction would have been there. Local filmmaker Yen Tan had a similar thought on the same drive, and it became Pit Stop, a screenplay that gets a staged reading at 8 p.m. at Four Day Weekend Theater, 312 Houston St., Fort Worth. Tan's story revolves around two men in a small town in Texas. One is divorced but on good terms with his ex-wife and their daughter. The other is a factory worker coping with a breakup. Admission is free. Call 817-462-3368.